Introducing BOB

Almost 5 years ago I created my first Skill development list. About 7 months later I made a public update of my list and wrote a blog post to explain it. Since then I've used the list sporadically but less and less. I've also seen my own education shift quite a bit away from testing and more into software development in general and coaching.

But I miss my list and also miss some of the energy I had back then when it came to learning. So it's time to revive an old friend.

A new name

I remember talking about my list on CAST 2013 saying something like: "give the list your own unique name to make it truly yours" and well, "Skill development list" just doesn't cut it anymore so meet my new friend: BOB: The Brickceptional Opportunity Bulletin board!

B.O.B !

The new name is not just for the sake of having a new name and/or to include the word brickceptional. Instead it's changed because "list", to me, sounds too much like "stuff I should complete" and "skill development" is sometimes more of a potential by-product rather than the main purpose. So "opportunity" better describes what each of the items represents and bulletin board better describes the idea that this is a collection of things I could potentially look into rather than stuff I'm expecting myself to try/complete.

... and brickceptional requires no further explanation.

Updated content

Well, BOB is published and ready.

What's different

1. The confer section is a lot bigger this time. I love conversing with people and since last time I've learned that it's actually quite easy to initiate (you ask people and they typically say yes).
     
2. I have a better idea of what I specifically want to do. This might not be that visible in BOB since I try to keep many of the items open but it's an important change for me personally and makes each of the items a lot more actionable.
      
3. It's more stuff this time partly because I know about more stuff that's possible to do but also because I'm not as concerned about what people might expect from me.
     
4. I've removed the "continuous" part as this became way too vague (didn't provide anything). I much rather keep that stuff in a personal manifesto.
     
5. I have more stuff under the read/watch category. Last time I was worried too many "easy" reading, watching or writing items would discourage me from actually seek out and meet people. Long story short: That's not an issue anymore but I think it was a good call the first time around.
     
6. Finally a lot more of the items tie back to my actual job. I'm not quite sure why... yet.
       

What can BOB do for you?

• Read the items from any of the three versions: 1, 2, 3.
  Anything that sounds interesting? Try it!
     
• Use BOB or any other resources out there to create your own "BOB". For some additional inspiration, see "Thank you" below.
     
• If you want help adding some initial items to your "BOB", just leave me a message on Twitter, LinkedIn or anywhere else and I'll do my best to help you.
      

Thank you

Finally: Thank you Ministry of Testing!

I've added ideas from many different sources but nothing beats your awesome content when it comes to creative, digestible ideas on things you can do to improve yourself (as a tester)!

• 30 days of Testing
• 99 Things You Can Do To Become A Better Tester
• 30 Things Every New Software Tester Should Learn